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Since I have been so busy playing catch up on my other blog posts (and yes, I am STILL way behind…I promise I have good reasons though ;)), I haven’t had the chance to officially announce my big news.
Since it has been so long, I’ll give you the whole run down of how it came about as well so bare with me ;)
Last spring, I decided that instead of looking for a job in the public school system around here (because our system(s) just laid off a lot more teachers adding that many more teachers to the applicant pool), I decided that I was going to try for a job at the University. I had no idea if I would get anything because I seem to be in the middle of either being too qualified or not qualified enough!
Anyway, I ran into one of my professors and our program director in the hall one day after class. I just casually mentioned that I was actively searching and would take anything, even if it meant doing meaningless office tasks like filing papers and making copies. She took note and mentioned that they might have something for me, but she would get back to me soon.
As we rolled into the summer, I received an e-mail from her letting me know that she thought that they might have a position teaching in the department, but they were trying to figure out the best way to hire me (as a Graduate Teaching Assistant vs. Adjunct Professor). The GTA position would be the best opportunity as they would pay for my entire tuition and I would get benefits as well as a monthly stipend. The problem was, all of their positions were filled so they were looking at hiring me as an adjunct for the fall and then moving me into the GTA position in the spring semester.
I was so excited that this was a possibility, but I didn’t want to get my hopes up just yet until everything was set in stone! A few weeks later, my professor met with me again and had a GTA position for me teaching technology to students in the college of education. I couldn’t have been more excited!! It was definitely a dream come true because I have always wanted to teach at the university-level and to be able to teach at the University of Alabama is beyond my wildest imaginations!
I went through all kinds of training and I absolutely loved it all and was so excited to actually begin!
Well, that time arrived this week and I taught my very first (and second…I have two back to back) college course!! I was a nervous wreck so I was unbelievably happy to get my first one under my belt and even moreso that it went well and I LOVE my students and the content! (It has been a long time since I’ve been able to say that I whole-heartedly LOVE my job)
To document my journey, I have started a blog (I know, another one…but I always try to keep a teaching blog as a journal of my experience) that you are more than welcome to check out http://fromcrayonstocollege.blogspot.com
I’m sure my teaching experience will creep into this blog sometimes too, but I will keep most of it on that one.
Anyway, just wanted to share my news and go ahead and give you the disclaimer that between the two classes I’m teaching, the three classes I’m taking and this little thing called college football, I will be swamped this semester!! I will try to keep up as much as I can though…thanks for hanging in there with me :)
